Business News Round Up (11/02/2025)
Scottish private sector growth moves in right direction after challenging start to New Year
The Royal Bank of Scotland Growth Tracker – a seasonally adjusted index measuring month-on-month change in the combined output of the region’s manufacturing and service sectors –rose from 46.9 in December to 49.6 in January, offering some signs of optimism for Scotland’s business sector in 2025. The softer contraction in private sector output was driven by a renewed uplift in services activity but partly offset a further decline in manufacturing production. Scottish firms continued to shed jobs at the start of 2025, after December data signalled a drop in employment for the first time in almost two years. Services joined manufacturing in registering lower staffing. Scottish private sector companies once again reported a decrease in new work intakes in January, with companies signalling lower client demand relating this to greater uncertainty about domestic economic conditions. The upcoming NI rise was also stated to have led customers to clamp down on spending.
Profit warnings issued by North West listed companies edge up in 2024
UK-listed companies in the North West issued more profit warnings last year than in 2023 due to a challenging second half of the year, according to EY-Parthenon’s latest Profit Warnings report. Listed companies in the region issued a total of 29 profit warnings during 2024, up marginally from the 27 warnings issued in 2023. The increase came despite a resilient first half of 2024, which saw warnings from North West companies fall by 21% year-on-year compared to the opening six months of 2023. North West companies operating in the Industrials FTSE super-sector issued the most warnings last year with a total of seven, similar to the national trend. Meanwhile, companies in the region operating in the consumer discretionary and technology FTSE super-sectors issued a total of five warnings each.
Scotland’s £28bn global marine energy market opportunity
A new report from the University of Edinburgh has highlighted the significant economic potential of tidal stream and wave energy for Scotland. Commissioned by Scottish Enterprise and Wave Energy Scotland, The Future Economic Potential of Tidal Stream and Wave Energy in Scotland report suggests that if Scotland maintains its position in marine energy, the sector could contribute over £8 billion to the Scottish economy by 2050, supporting over 15,000 jobs, including high-value employment in coastal communities and the Highlands and Islands. It presents a scenario where there is an estimated Scottish market for up to 8.8GW of marine energy by 2050, with potential deployments of up to 12.6GW throughout the UK and up to 300GW globally. The report states this could deliver up to 62,000 jobs in Scottish companies in 2050, comprised of 15,600 jobs in the UK, plus a further 46,000 jobs from worldwide exports.
Jobs market sees accelerated drop in vacancies and cooling of pay growth
The jobs market in the North of England remained under pressure, according to the latest KPMG and REC, UK Report on Jobs: North of England survey data. Demand for workers weakened, as reflected by an accelerated drop in vacancies. As a result, hiring activity for both types of staff contracted, again at sharper and historically elevated rates. This triggered a cooldown in pay growth. The report is compiled by S&P Global from responses to questionnaires sent to around 150 recruitment and employment consultancies in the North of England. January survey data showed that permanent staff placements fell at a substantial and accelerated pace in the North of England. This marked the fifth decrease in the respective seasonally adjusted index in consecutive months, to its lowest since June 2020. Surveyed recruiters linked the downturn to reduced vacancies, hiring hesitancy amid post-Budget uncertainty and elevated staffing costs.